It was just another Saturday evening on Gilligan's Island. Everyone had just finished their dinner and was chattering among themselves while Ginger and Mary Ann gathered up the dishes.
"Delicious as always. My compliments to the chef," Mr. Howell replied, getting up from the table.
"Well, thank you Mr. Howell, " Mary Ann replied, blushing. She never did quite know how to take a compliment without being humbled. She past by Gilligan, who was still working on his dessert, and she laid a hand on his shoulder. "How's that pie coming along? Any good?" She inquired.
Gilligan looked up briefly and nodded his head, "Mm, mm, mm, mm." "That's good," she said with a giggle as she brushed past him.
"Oh dear," the Professor replied, looking up at the sky, "I don't like the look of those clouds. We may be in for a big storm. I suggest we all take shelter in one of the caves in case it gets bad. Hopefully, it will come through quickly and we won't be in there for long."
Mary Ann, Ginger, and the rest all pitched in to get things cleaned up as quickly as possible. The wind started up in the middle of their chores and the Professor suggested that they take shelter immediately. They all follow him single file to the nearest cave they can find that would be capable of accommodating all seven of them comfortably.
Once inside the cave, the wind howled even stronger and the rain started to pour. Everyone was tense and seemed a little worried, until Gilligan came up with a suggestion.
"Hey, I know. Let's play a game. Maybe it will get our minds off of the storm," He suggested. Everyone's expressions brightened. It was an excellent idea.
"I know,' Ginger suggested, "Seven Minutes In Heaven." Everyone shook their head no and Mary Ann pointed out that there were no rooms to designate as "Heaven".
"How about Spin The Bottle?" The Skipper suggested, and Gilligan pointed out that they didn't have a bottle, and Mr. Howell would get in trouble with Mrs. Howell if the bottle should point to Mary Ann or Ginger when it came his turn.
"I know," Mary Ann replied, "Let's play Truth or Dare! I haven't played that since my sisters and cousins and I were teenagers." Everyone seemed to love the idea, even the Howells, who had never played the game themselves, but had at least heard of it.
"What is this Truth or Dare?" The Professor asked, turning away from the book he had brought along.
"Professor, you've never played Truth or Dare before?" Ginger asked in disbelief.
"No, my friends and I were more Chess players than anything. If we really wanted to have some fun, we would throw brain teasers at each other," the Professor replied.
"It's really simple," Mary Ann explained, "someone starts and they ask someone else Truth or Dare. If the person picks Truth, they have to answer any question given to them. The juicier the question, the better. If they pick Dare, they have to do something, pull off some stunt that the other person tells them to do. The rules for dares include no nudity, and no involving the other players, unless they agree to it."
"Ok Mary Ann, why don't you start and show us how it's done?" The Professor asked.
"Ok, I pick you Professor. Truth or Dare?"
"Truth."
"Ok, let's see... I know, have you ever cheated on anything before?"
"Well," the Professor said, rubbing his chin, "let me think about that. Oh, yes I did. Now I remember. I didn't come up with a decent Science Fair project one year, so I swiped the one my brother used. I ended up getting just a participation ribbon." He sounded disappointed.
"So you didn't place. So what?" Ginger asked.
"It was humiliating. My brother was a Junior in high school. I was in the 6th grade. His pathetic project couldn't even place in a Primary School Science Fair," he exclaimed. Every one laughed. Now it was the Professor's turn.
"Ginger, Truth or Dare?"
"Dare."
"I dare you to act like a chicken." Ginger stood up and crouched down. She folded her arms and placed her hands just under her armpits. She began to cluck and strut and flap her wings. She really got into it and began to bob her head back and forth, scratching the ground with her toes as she strutted along. Everyone was laughing so hard that some of them were doubled over. At one point she let out a very loud squawk and said, "Oops, I think I laid an egg." When she was done, she scanned the cave for the perfect victim.
"Mrs. Howell, Truth or Dare?"
"Dare."
"I dare you to get up and roll your hips like Elvis Presley."
"Who?"
"Elvis. Here look, I'll show you," Ginger said, getting up again and demonstrating a hip roll for Mrs. Howell. Mrs. Howell's face flushed bright pink.
"Well, alright," she said getting up. She stood up straight, parted her feet and concentrated on copying the hip roll exactly as Ginger had. After a few cat calls and whistles, all in good fun, of course, she sat down. Thurston Howell's face was as red as a beet. Now it was Mrs. Howell's turn, and of course, she picked her Thurston.
"Thurston darling, Truth or Dare?"
"Truth." There was no way he was going to get caught in a dare, not after seeing what Ginger and Lovey had to do. Absolutely revolting!
"Alright, is it or is it not true that the day you called me to cancel our afternoon tea, because of the stomach flu, you were actually out playing golf with Charles Conrad the Fourth?" Lovey asked.
"Yeah, you got me," Thurston admitted,"golf is a real sickness for me... especially when my goal is to beat the pants off of the likes of Mr. Conrad."
"Oh," Lovey fumed, "I knew it, I just knew it. Shame on you." She turned from him, folding her arms in a pout.
"It's just a game Mrs. Howell," Mary Ann reminded her, "I forgot the rule for Truth is that you can't hold grudges."
"Ok now," Mr. Howell said, looking around the cave, "Captain, Truth or Dare?"
"Dare."
"I dare you to do your best imitation of Ms. Ginger Grant. Is that ok with you, Ginger?" Mr. Howell asked. Ginger nodded.
"I can't wait to see this," Ginger said with a giggle.
"All right, all right," the Skipper said, standing up, "will you and Professor help me out with this one?" He asked Gilligan. Gilligan nodded yes and the Professor nodded yes.
Skipper places his hands on his pectoral muscles and pushes upward, pretending they're bosoms. Then, he took the heel of his hand a pretended to be primping curls. The whole cave was already in a uproar, and he had just barely started. He placed one hand on his hip, while the other arm swung free at his side as he sashayed over to the Professor.
"Hi Professor," the Skipper said, a few octaves higher to copy a more feminine register, "whatcha doin' this time?" He was batting his eyes and puckering his lips. Now everyone, including Ginger, was laughing so hard they could hardly breathe. He moved on over to Gilligan next.
"Oh Gilligan," the Skipper said in his Ginger voice, "won't you tell Gingy where Mrs. Howell found those oyster pearls? Please?" The Skipper batted his eyes at Gilligan and ran his finger in circles on the front of Gilligan's shirt.
"Am I done now?" The Skipper asked in his regular voice.
"Yes, and Bravo," Mr. Howell said, "what a superb performance." Now it was the Skipper's turn. He knew exactly who he was going to pick.
"Gilligan, Truth or Dare?"
"Gosh, I always pick dare. I think I'll go for truth this time."
"Alright," the Skipper started, " how far have you ever gotten with a girl?"
"Skipper, that's not fair!" Mary Ann started in, "you'll embarrass poor Gilligan!"
"It's not against the rules," Ginger stated," I used to play Truth or Dare myself you know."
"Well, " Gilligan started, "one time Katie O'Leary and I went into the next state to see a Mosquito's concert."
"That's not what the Skipper meant." Ginger said. "You know... first base... second base... third base... home run."
"I stink at Baseball," Gilligan stated with brow furrowed. What did Baseball have to do with going out with a girl.
"For Pete's sake," Ginger said, getting up off of the ground and whispering in Gilligan's ear just what she meant by bases. His eyes grew wide and his mouth flew open.
"Um... ok. If that's what in means, then my answer is second base," Gilligan admitted, and his whole face went red.
"Gilligan, your telling me you got to second base with an honest to goodness real girl?" The Skipper asked.
"Well, Katie O'Leary made me. She said that our relationship was boring and she had absolutely nothing to tell the other girls because there were no details to brag about," Gilligan explained, "she said if I didn't stop being such a gentleman, she was going to punch my lights out." Everyone laughed, except for Mrs. Howell. She was confused.
"Thurston," she asked, "what is so funny about this first, second, and third base nonsense? I don't get it."
Mr. Howell leaned in, giving his wife's arm a gentle squeeze, and whispered, "I'll show you later, Lovey dear." Apparently, he hadn't been quiet enough because Ginger and Mary Ann burst out laughing. Once again, Mr. Howell was as red as a beet. It was now Gilligan's turn and the only one left was Mary Ann.
"Mary Ann, Truth or Dare?"
"Dare."
"I dare you to kiss me."
"What?"
"You can't do that, Gilligan," Ginger protested, "that's against the rules." Mary Ann stood up, locked eyes with Gilligan and slowly made her way to where he was standing. She held her hand up to Ginger and said, "It's alright Ginger. I'll take the dare."
"You will?" Gilligan asked, a little amazed.
"Uh huh," she said, coming even closer, "but are you sure you want that to be your dare? It's way too easy for me." She was grinning ear to ear. Gilligan swallowed and slowly nodded. Nervously, he pulled at the collar of his shirt. Mary Ann got on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around Gilligan's neck, and pulled herself up to place her wanting lips onto his. It wasn't a short "let's get this over with kiss," it was something they both were enjoying. Gilligan bent down a little to allow the kiss to deepen. Poor Mary Ann was having a hard time staying on her toes and once almost lifted herself off the ground. The kiss continued, either one only stopping long enough to get a breath of air. When they did finally pull away, it was because they heard the Skipper announce that the storm had finally past. Everyone went to the entrance of the cave to look out. The island was covered in a misty fog, and a rainbow high in the sky stretched to where it seemed like it dipped behind the trees. It was the most beautiful sight that Mary Ann had ever seen, perfectly paired with the most beautiful moment of her life. Everyone was getting ready to leave the cave, when Mary Ann felt a tap on her shoulder. It was the Professor.
"Pardon me, Mary Ann," the Professor replied," but what was the point of this game? I mean, how do you know who won?" Mary Ann, still clinging to Gilligan, her Gilligan, and looked up at him and smiled. She then looked at the Professor and said, "I did, Professor, I did."
The End